Fiat 131, Tofas Sahin, and various successors!




Fiat 131, also known as the Mirafiori, 2000 TC Sport, and 131 Abarth, was a remarkably popular taxi model in Pakistan, India, the Middle East, and even featured prominently in Sahara-based films from the '70s and '80s. Surprisingly, I never knew that this particular model was licensed and produced by manufacturers in these developing countries. It wasn't until recently that I discovered these cars were manufactured until as late as 2010 in Turkey, Egypt, and Ethiopia by Turkish Tofaş, Egyptian NASR, and Ethiopian Holland Car (also known as Holland DOCC).

The Fiat 131 was also produced by the Polish FSO Polonez, or Polski Fiat, where it was known as the Fiat 131p, with the 'p' denoting Polonez or Poland. The original Fiat 131 was produced from 1973 to 1984 by the main Fiat company as the successor to the Fiat 124, remaining in production for over a decade. It paved the way for models like the Lada 2107/Lada Riva, Lada 2105/2104, Lada 2106/2103, and served as the predecessor to the Lada 2101 and 2102, all of which were affectionately nicknamed Lada 1500 in Norway.

While Fiat 131 production ceased in its original form by Fiat in 1984, Tofaş continued manufacturing it until 1986, two years after Fiat halted production. Additionally, Polski Fiat produced their own version until 1991. In a separate post, I've detailed how Egyptian NASR produced pickup versions of the Polish model until 1992, and there were even subpar versions manufactured in China until 1995 based on this design.

Interestingly, Fiat 131 had two successors, the Regata and Tempra, produced by Fiat in Italy from 1983 to 1990 and in Argentina from 1985 to 1995. The Fiat Tempra, originally produced from 1990 to 1996 in Turkey and Brazil from 1990 to 1999, remained in production in Vietnam until as late as 2002. Now that's quite the lasting legacy!





In the two pictures above, you're seeing a genuine Tofas Fiat 131 Sahin parked in the Netherlands with Dutch plates. You know, it would be pretty awesome if a whole bunch of Tofas Sahin of the same newer models from the late '90s to 2010 had been imported to Norway and cruised around here as hot rods in the same way.

















































































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